An Interview with a Clockwork
by Dinothudd
Summary: A struggling reporter for the Rogue Isle Protector is sent to do an interview. He soon realizes that he isn't just speaking with the newest rising star in Arachnos, but the runaway heir to the legacy of the Clockwork King.
1. Chapter 1

**If I owned City of Heroes/Villains I wouldn't be writing fan-fics, I'd be writing new content for the game.**

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The plush carpeting muffled the sound of his footfalls as he walked down the halls of the prestigious Golden Giza looking for room 2552. The place certainly lived up to its reputation. Everything was immaculate. There wasn't a trace of dust, dirt, or fingerprints anywhere. The well-dressed staff was quiet and courteous, always smiling or nodding but never inquiring as to your business in the halls. If you managed to get to this level of the Giza, you were obviously supposed to be here and the less anyone else knew about what you were doing, the better for all involved. Finally, the elusive number came into view. A corner suite? Whoever set this up is either looking to really impress him, or just has more money than they really know what to do with. Either way, this should be interesting.

As he went to insert the keycard, he hesitated. Is it really going to be that simple? Just walk in the room, sit down, and talk to whomever they sent? His contact had given him no reason to suspect anything else, but then again, in the Rogue Isles, you learn to lie almost as soon as you learn to speak. Well ...it's not as if he couldn't have backup here at a moments notice, so why not. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say.

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The figure sitting in the plush chair watching TV nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the mechanism of the lock click open. Quickly, he was up out of the chair fumbling with the remote to shut off the television. As the door swung open, he quickly tried to calm his nerves and gather his wits. You never knew what you were going to get on an assignment like this, but if it worked out, Johnny T knew that his career would be set.

"Ah, you're here!" exclaimed Johnny, "Thank you so much for taking the time to come here. I realize that you must be ill at ease but I assure you that everything here is exactly as it seems. I am simply here to talk with you and hopefully we can come to an agreement which will be beneficial to us both."

Johnny Ts' outburst was greeted with silence from his guest as he closed the door behind him and strode into the room. He appeared to be casually looking at the room as he walked, but Johnny knew better. He was looking for something. For **anything**. Any indication that this was a set-up. Some subtle clue that would tell him that this meeting wasn't what it was supposed to be. Any excuse to send him back to the offices of the Rogue Isle Protector in various sizes of zip-lock bags. Johnny was nearly too nervous to breathe as he awaited some sort of response.

***************

The man in the room started yammering at him almost as soon as he entered. While he couldn't help but hear what was said, he paid it no mind for the moment. Reaching out with his senses, he searched the room as well as the area around it for signs of danger as he slowly approached his _host_. Once satisfied that there was no hidden threat lurking about, he finally took notice of the man once again. He looked like he was about to piss himself, but from fear or excitement, it was hard to tell. In a deep, commanding, and **almost** human sounding voice, he finally said "Phipps told me that someone wanted to talk to me, but not who they were or what about. My continued presence in this room, as well as your continued existence, depends solely on how I feel about what you have to say. Choose your words carefully."

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A/N: This is my first attempt an any sort of fan-fiction. Let me know what you think. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**If I owned City of Heroes, you'd have been able to customize the colors of your energy blasts and power auras at the games' release.**

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Johnny audibly gulped as he tried to calm his nerves. "Yes, of course." he said, nearly too fast to understand. "Let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Johnny T, freelance reporter. The Rogue Isle Protector has run quite a few of my articles. I also do some occasional news coverage for WSPDR over in Cap. I've been trying to get a steady gig with one or the other for a couple years now. I'm not a total unknown in the biz, but nowhere near where I'd like to be in the wide world of broadcast media."

Here, he paused to catch his breath and collect his thoughts. His guest, whose name he still hadn't even asked about yet, hadn't moved since he sat down... literally. He may as well have been a statue sitting in the plush armchair across from him. Taking a deep breath, he continued on "I grew up here in the Rogue Isles. More specifically, in the slums beneath Grandville. I won't go into the details of my youth, but suffice it to say that I quickly learned to do whatever was necessary to survive. It was while learning this that I became acquainted with the man who arranged this meeting, Westin Phipps. I was always a bit more observant than the other children and it didn't take me long to notice that Mr. Phipps and Haven House were not quite what they made themselves out to be. Long story short, Mr. Phipps thought that I could be useful as an informant and took me under his wing. Over the years, we've kept in touch and he thought that perhaps what my career needed was a little something to jump-start it. That is where you come in, good sir. Mr. Phipps suggested that I should interview a rising star in the Isles. Someone who was getting noticed for their actions by not only the heroes of Paragon City, but, as rumor has it, by Lord Recluse himself. He said that he had such a person in mind and that he would arrange the initial meeting for me. I actually had no idea who he would be sending here tonight."

At this point, Johnny sat down in the chair opposite his guest and continued "What I would like to do, if you find it agreeable, is to tell your story. To let not just the people of the Rogue Isles and Paragon City know who you are, but the entire world. I realize, of course, that you're not going to tell me your deepest, darkest secrets or give away your one fatal weakness. What I'm after, I guess, is what makes you, **you**. Does any of this sound like something you might be interested in?"

His guest no longer resembled a statue. The man had a look of concentration on his face and the fingers on his right hand were idly tapping the arm of the chair while his left hand was stroking his chin. This went on for a few moments before, quite suddenly, he stood up and walked past Johnny to the window overlooking St. Martial. Without looking back, he said "So I get to tell the whole world my story, huh?" Voice dripping with sarcasm, he continued " My likes, dislikes, favorite color, and such, and you hope to get a boost to your lackluster journalistic career. To be honest, it seems like this will be of much more benefit to you than to myself. I could get by just fine without John Q. Public knowing the details of my life."

With this he turned and took several steps toward the door. Johnnys' heart skipped a beat as he watched his last chance at fame and fortune walk away from him. He reached out his hand and started to speak when his guest suddenly stopped and turned to face him again. "However," he said, sounding much more agreeable and stepping back toward his host, "Westin **has** been a great help to me over the years. He obviously thinks this could be helpful to us both and I am inclined to trust his judgment. Also, I must admit, I find the idea of the whole world knowing who I am quite intriguing. Therefore, I believe that I shall take you up on your offer and share the details of my existence with you."

He extends his hand as he reaches Johnny T, who takes it in stunned disbelief. "I suppose I should begin by introducing myself." he says, "They call me the Clockwork Prince."


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own City of Heroes. If I did, I'd give buttcapes to the VEATS.**

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Johnnys' eyes widened in shock at the revelation of his guests identity. He, like most of the populace of the Rogue Isles, thought that the Clockwork Prince was just an urban legend. A few years ago, unsubstantiated stories began spreading around the slums and run-down bars of Mercy Island of a mechanical man tearing through the Snakes like tissue paper. Shortly after that, the Vendetti family in Port Oakes dealt series of devastating blows to their old enemy, The Council. Survivors said it was all done by one person. One man, they said, in a armored suit of some kind. One or two said he wasn't alone though. They thought they saw a couple of small, armed robots with him as well. Either way, the descriptions given in most of the stories seemed to fit the person he saw before him.

His body seemed to be made primarily of a silvery-grey metal. Other parts were covered by a transparent material which revealed a greenish glow coming from within. Parts of his armor were highlighted in a similar green and a "crown", for lack of a better word, of green crystals sprouted from the top of his forehead. A simple cape in matching grey and green completed the look.

Eventually, the stories had died down. Sometimes you'd still get someone who would swear that they knew somebody who knew somebody who said that they had seen the Clockwork Prince. He'd turn up anywhere from the fortress of Lord Recluse to the university in Cap Au Diable. In all cases, the person recounting the tale was falling-down drunk and was usually answered with remarks like "Yeah, ol' Clockwork was in here the other night. Him and Elvis were singing karaoke of the Backstreet Boys." and other such nonsense. Nobody thought he was real. He was just the Rogue Isles' new version of the boogeyman. Better watch your back and don't betray your friends or the Clockwork Prince might come for you.

It took only the space of a few heartbeats for these thoughts to flash through Johnnys' mind. He quickly gathered his wits once again as the Rogue Isles' version of Bigfoot sat back down in the plush chair across from him. "You're telling me you're **the** Clockwork Prince", Johnny said as he returned to his seat as well. "Wow... I mean... nobody actually believes you exist. You're like Freddy or Jason, ya know? Scary as hell, but just make-believe."

The Clockwork Prince actually chuckled at this. "Let me assure you," he replied clasping his hands together, a rather amused grin spreading across his face, "I am quite real." Looking Johnny square in the eyes, he continued, "Unfortunately, the most staunch believers in my existence are, for the most part, no longer in any condition to relay such information to the general populace."

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As seconds passed in silence, Johnny T was finding it harder and harder to breathe, let alone think. The phrase, "... no longer in any condition to relay such information..." kept running through his mind. He could feel the panic rising. He had to get out of here before he became another story for the tap-rooms of the Isles. Had to...

"Johnny!!" The synthesized voice cut through the panic like a razor as cool metal hands grasped him by the shoulders. "Calm yourself. As I said, I like the idea of telling my story to the world. You are in no danger from me here this evening." Returning to his chair, he continued "And while this interview is going on, I will consider any threat to you as a threat to myself as well. Now then, where would you like to begin?"


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own City of Heroes. If I did, movement suppression would be gone NOW!!!**

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"Umm... Yes, well... allrighty then." stammered Johnny as he tried to wrap his brain around what had just been said. "I suppose the best place to begin, Mr. Clockwork... er, sorry, Mr. Prince,.... ahhh, Your Majesty... Ok, we start with how should I refer to you during this interview. You said they call you the Clockwork Prince. Is that your only name, or do you have some other title that you prefer?"

The Clockwork Prince seemed to chuckle lightly at Johnnys confusion. "I have been called many things in the past. Sometimes I am simply referred to as Clockwork, but I like that about as much as you would like being referred to as Human. Others have just called me Prince, although I'm not really very short, nor do I have any particular fondness for the color purple. One associate of mine insists on calling me CP... I'm going to have to kill her someday, I'm sure. No, I think just Mr. Prince will do for now."

"Very well then, Mr. Prince. I'd like to start with your beginnings. Where did you come from? How did you become what I see here today?"

"Yes, of course. The classic villainous origin story. I suppose that would be the best place for us to start. To tell the truth, it's something I haven't even really thought about for years now. My tale begins, so to speak, in the part of Paragon City known as Skyway City...."

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My earliest memory file is of waking up and seeing the Clockwork King standing over me. Heh... I said waking up, didn't I? Coming on-line would be a more accurate term. Of all the things you would want to see upon first coming to awareness, let me assure you that a big jar holding a disembodied brain and eyeballs sitting atop a giant robotic body is **not** among my top 10. Anyway, upon seeing that I was, in fact, awake and aware, he spoke to me. He said "After all these years, finally, you are here. No!! Don't try to move yet, I'm running a diagnostic on your internal systems. I couldn't do the final check until you were actually conscious"

I don't think I could have moved anyway. I was too shocked to know what to do. My senses were being overloaded with input. Everything was so bright, so loud, so very... overwhelming! As the Clockwork King continued the diagnostic, things slowly started to normalize for me.

"That should do it." he said. "The gain on your sensory inputs was set much too high. Well now, lets have a look at you." At this point, the table I'm laying on tilts up and I feel the weight shift to my legs and feet. He walks back and forth in front of me, looking me up and down before finally saying "Yes, I think we're finally done with you. Tell me, do you know who I am?"

Needless to say, at this point I had absolutely **no** clue what this walking, talking monstrosity before me was. Oddly enough though, I wasn't frightened. Nor was I angry or amused. I was oddly indifferent as I searched for an answer to his question, to the fact that not only did I not know who HE was, I didn't even know who **I **was. Oh, there was a vast amount of information in my head. I knew how to read, write, and speak in several languages. Doing complicated calculations came to me as easily and naturally as breathing does to you. My brain was filled with all sorts of information about Paragon City and its inhabitants. From the various districts and boroughs, to prominent city officials and Heroes of note. All this and more I knew, but I didn't know who or what I or who this _thing_ in front of me was. Finally, I shook my head no, not trusting myself to try speaking yet.

"Of course you don't." the Clockwork King said, sounding rather pleased. "That was an expected side effect of the process. I am the Clockwork King!! I am your creator. **You** are my masterpiece. A perfect merging of clockwork perfection with human instinct and ingenuity. Leading an army of my newest clockwork assault units, you will wreak havoc upon the forces of Paragon City!! You will level their precious War Walls, cripple their defenses, and leave Paragon City a smoking ruin!! Your power will be second only to my own in the new world that I will create. As such, you are now, and forever, my Clockwork Prince."

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The Clockwork Prince paused for a moment in his tale here to let Johnny catch up. Although the room was a cool 72 degrees, Johnny T was sweating furiously as he tried to capture the essence of what he was hearing on paper so that he could type it all out when he got home. When he finally looked up from his writing, he saw 'Mr. Prince' over by the rooms mini-bar. "Would you care for a drink?", he asked, "You look like you could use one. I don't actually get thirsty per-se, but I **am** able to process liquids like this for use by my bodies systems. Plus, it seems to help calm the nerves of whoever I happen to be around if I have a drink along with them."

"Just water please." was Johnnys response. As much as he could really use a good stiff drink (or 3, for that matter) right now, he didn't want to risk having his thoughts clouded by alcohol as he listened to the story unfolding before him. If this didn't win him a Nobel Prize, you'd best believe it would at least make him a major player in the world of journalism for decades to come. Heck, just the movie rights to this story alone would make him billions. There was no way he was going to risk his first and possibly last big break for something as mundane as a scotch and soda.

"Here you go." said Mr. Prince as he sat himself back down. Gratefully, Johnny took the proffered cup and drank nearly the whole thing all at once. "Are you doing alright? You look like you're ready to drop." Mr. Prince inquired as Johnny finished off the water. "I'll tell you what. Why don't we call it a night for now. It's getting late anyway and from what I am reading from your vital signs, you are in dire need of some rest. Why don't we meet back here in one week, and pick things up from there. I've done some work in the past for the Giza and I'm sure I can arrange for us to have this same room again. What do you say?"

Johnny nodded in agreement. Rest and some time to think were exactly what he needed now. He was amazed that this 'man', for lack of a better word, would show any concern for him or his well-being. As they both stood up, Mr. Prince raised his hand and said "Oh, here... keep this with you this week." His raised hand reaches behind its opposite shoulder and a "pfft" like the firing of a silenced pistol is heard. Holding the hand out toward Johnny, a small disc shaped object is revealed. Seeing the look of confusion on Johnnys face, he explained "It's a modified Seeker Drone. A defensive tool used more for distraction than anything. As I said earlier, while this interview is going on, any threat to you, I will see as a threat to myself as well.. I've had this drone modify itself, so that should you be attacked, it will launch itself at your attackers and provide a distraction for you to get away. I will instantly know when and where it activates and help will arrive soon thereafter. Take it, please, it won't hurt you."

Tentatively, Johnny accepted the small disc-like object and stuffed it into his jacket pocket. As they approached the door, he asked "What if something comes up and I need to contact you before next week? Should I leave a message with Mr. Phipps? Will he know who I'm talking about if I call you Mr. Prince?"

"The Seeker Drone can help you there too." was the response. "Just tap it twice like you were double clicking a mouse button. It will flash once, then you can speak and I will get the message. Think of it as a very personalized voice-mail system. Oh, and while we're on the subject of what-ifs, it would probably be best for us both if this interview was just kept between you and I for the time being. Now then, I'm off to speak with the management, I would suggest that you bring a digital voice recorder or some such device next week. That way you won't have to kill your hands trying to keep up with me." Opening the door, the Clockwork Prince stepped into the hallway. Before leaving, he says over his shoulder "Take care of yourself this week, Johnny T. I think, at our next meeting, I'll tell you about my escape from the Clockwork King. Ciao."


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own City of Heroes. If I did, Storm Defenders would be a prestige class.**

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A nondescript man approached the front desk of the Golden Giza, pulling behind him a rack containing an odd looking assortment of bags and equipment. After a brief discussion with the desk clerk, he made his way to the elevators, firmly but politely refusing all offers of assistance with his packages. The staff at the Giza were used many of their guests being a bit "eccentric", so this behavior didn't really raise any eyebrows. Ten minutes later, none of them could really have even told you what the man had looked like, if they even remembered seeing him at all. There was always a good flow of people coming and going through the main lobby, and about 99% of them were much more interesting than he was.

Making his way through the maze-like halls of the huge hotel and casino, Johnny Ts mind was already racing. Other than a couple of scares when the Seeker Drone in his pocked had started vibrating rather strongly, it had been a rather uneventful week. It had taken him several days to sort out, arrange, and type up what he had been told last week. His notes had been written very quickly and in some places were illegible even to him. That wasn't happening to him again. That's why he went out and got all this equipment. This time, he thought, I'll have it all recorded and I'll be able to go over it again and again at my leisure. Hopefully, nothing would interfere with this weeks interview session and he would have yet another piece to the puzzle he had discovered. A puzzle called the Clockwork Prince.

Johnny brought his attention back to his surroundings as he realized he was approaching his destination. Slipping the keycard into the lock, he opened the door to the now slightly familiar confines of room 2552. As he entered, he noticed that some of the lights were already on, as well as the TV. A quick look through the suite however showed that for now, at least, he was alone. Well, he thought, it's only 2pm. I may have been jumping the gun a bit showing up this early, but somebody's obviously been here. Oh well, I guess I'll go ahead and get set-up. Wonder if there's any good movies on the pay-per-view.

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Several hours later, Johnny T was awakened by some strange noises outside the room. Now, the occasional odd noise is in no way unusual in any hotel, regardless of how ritzy, so this normally wouldn't have roused him. This sound, however, wasn't coming from out in the hallway or an adjacent room. **This **sound, was coming from the balcony. It sounded like someone was out there. It was still pretty bright outside, the sun just an inch or so over the horizon as it slowly set over the calm waters of St. Martial. Slowly making his way to curtained balcony door, he could now hear someone speaking. He couldn't make out the words, but it sounded like whoever was out there was rather pleased with something. Slipping the Seeker Drone out of his pocket, he approached the door and quickly opened it, trusting that the drone would give him a moment or so to save himself if the intruder proved hostile. The sight that greeted him was most certainly **not** what he was expecting.

Standing near the balconys railing was a person in black metallic armor. The green highlights on the suit reminded him a bit of how the Clockwork Princes armor had looked. But where the Clockwork Prince had been well spoken and rather genteel last week, this person seemed quite the opposite. This person was obviously quite put-out with whomever he was speaking to via a small holographic projector mounted into his gauntlet. As the intruder described in excruciating detail the things he would do to this person if their inaccurate information caused him any more trouble, Johnnys reporters instincts kicked in and he began taking mental notes about the person before him.

He was somewhere between 6½ and 7 feet tall. His armor appeared to be have buckled straps of an unknown material helping to hold it on in places. A metal skull was affixed to the center of his chest with a smaller one seeming to serve as the buckle to his belt. Spiked metal pauldrons protected his broad shoulders and helped to hold a matching black and green cape on his back.

Finishing his verbal assault and deactivating the projector, the stranger smashed his fists into the railing, crushing it and eliciting a small yelp of fear from Johnny. "This is it!" Johnny thought as he brought up the Seeker Drone to give it a clear path as the man turned quickly toward him. As the unknown intruders face became visible, Johnny almost collapsed with relief as he realized who it was. The coloration was wrong and his outfit was different, but there was no mistaking that crown of green glowing crystals or the humor in his voice as the Clockwork Prince looked at him and said "That you, Johnny? Sorry to have kept you waiting, but you know how it is, something came up that just couldn't wait. Let's go inside and I'll get cleaned up. Then we can pick-up where we left off last week."

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As he followed "Mr. Prince" into the room, Johnny noticed what appeared to be wounds in his hosts outer shell. The armor was punctured in several places. Blood and scorch marks were visible as well. Once inside, the Clockwork Prince pulled out a small pyramid shaped device and sat it on the table next to the plush chair he had occupied last week. At the push of a hidden button, the device lit-up and a soothing glow, barely visible in the light of the room, emanated from it. As the glow reached him, Johnny noticed that he felt refreshed and revitalized. Seeing the curious look on Johnnys face, the Clockwork Prince told him "This is a Triage Beacon. It's radiation not only speeds up biological healing, as I'm sure you are noticing. It also supercharges my internal repair systems. Imagine, if you will, that I have millions of clockwork nanites inside me who repairing my damaged parts. This radiation is to them what cocaine is to humans."

Johnny could only stare as the visible damage on the surface started to erase itself. Bullet holes closed up. The scorch marks and blood seemed to fade away. He even noticed a few dents which were slowly reshaping themselves to match the rest of his body. In the space of just a couple minutes, you would never be able to tell he'd been in a fight. "That is simply amazing!" Johnny exclaimed. "What, if I may ask, happened to you that caused you to get so banged up?"

"Without going into too much detail", the Clockwork Prince replied, "let's just say that I was sent to retrieve something from a Crey Industries lab. After successfully obtaining the item and exiting the facility, a squad of Longbow came along and stuck their noses in where they weren't invited. The majority of the damage I sustained came from them. I think I dented one of my hands on the head of the Ballista leading the group. Suffice it to say that I still accomplished my mission, and those troublesome Longbow agents won't be getting in anyones way for at least a few weeks. Except the Ballista. The blood you saw on me was his. **He** may not even be back on solid food until sometime next year... if he's lucky."

After a brief pause and a look around the room, he continued "Ok, now that I look a bit less like a losing entry from a demolition derby, why don't you tell me why our suite suddenly looks like we're going to be shooting part of a Girls Gone Wild video in it."


End file.
